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0. C.. CRANE. CABLE SUPPORTING SHEAVE FUR CABLE RAILWAYS.

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CABLE SUPPORTING SHEAVE FOR CABLE RAILWAYS. No. 383,708.

Patented May Z9, 1888.

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NITED STATES ORIGEN C. CRANE, OF NEW YORK, NaY.

CABLE-SUPPORTING SHEAVE FOR CABLE RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part oi' Letters Patent No. 383,708, dated May 29,1888.

Application tiled February 25, 1888. Serial No. 265,253. (No model.) l

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, ORIGEN C. CRANE, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, county ofNew York, and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Cable Supporting Sheavesfor Cable Railways, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide an apparatus which, whilesupporting the tractioneable or rope of a cable railway up within reachof the'grip on the car, will be capable of depression by a suitableprojection on the car, so as to avoid coming in contact with andinjuring the grip or of beinginjured thereby.

It has been heretofore proposed to mount a cable-carrying sheave at theextremity of a depression-lever which is intended to be engaged by aroller at the extremity of an arm projecting downward from the car orgrip; but this plan is open to serious disadvantages. For example, ithas been found impracticable to hold the carryingsheave depressed by theuse of a single roller carried by a projection on the car while a gripof any considerable length is passing. lu practice, therefore, itis customary to use, in connection with a depression-roller mounted on theroad-bed, a guard rail or bar of sufficient length to hold thecablesupporting sheave or roller depressed until the latter has entirelypassed thegrip on the car. Heretofore the cable supporting sheave orroller has been held up by means of a counter-weight, the roller andcounterweight being at opposite ends of a lever of the rst order. Vithsuch an arrangement the inertia of the weight causes the roller tostrike a heavy blow against the guard-rail on the car before the rolleryields, and while a slowly-moving car might operate the weightsatisfactorily, one moving at the ordinary 'rate of speed would abutagainst the roller with such violence as to result in breaking of theparts. My purpose, therefore, is to so arrange the apparatus that themovement of the guard-rail will meet with as little material inertia aspossible on the part of the depression-sheave; and to this end myinvention consists in certain construction of parts for yieldinglysupporting the depression sheave or roller to allow it to give way onreceiving the impact of the guard-rail with an equal and easy movement,and with the avoidance of shock or jar to the sheave, and consequentlyto the cable which said sheave supports. l

The invention will first be fully described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, and the novel features will then be pointed ontin theclaims.

In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatusfixed to the road-bed and supporting the cable, the guardrail on the carbeing also shown just approaching or leaving the sheave or pulley. Fig.2 is a plan View omitting the guard-rail of the car. Fig. 3 is a sideelevation similar to Fig. 1, showing the roller in depressed position.

A represents the cable, and B the cable-sup` porting sheave or pulleycarried by one end of a pin or shaft, B', on the other end of which isan idle wheel or roller, P. Intermediately of the two rollers the pin orshaft B is mounted in the long arm of a lever made up of said long armO, a shorter arm, F, and a rock shaft, D, to which both of said arms areclamped rigidly. The shaft D has bearing in straps or boxes E, fixed tothe road-bed. Hinged to the shorter arm,F,of the lever is a rod, G,carrying a follower, M, which is adjustable on said rod by jalnnuts N.This follower is guided upon a frame, H, which is pivoted to theroad-bed at l. A spring or springs, J K, are mounted in the framebetween the end L thereof and the follower M, so as to be compressed ateach depression of the arm F to which the rod G is connected. Either oneor two springs, J` K, may be employed; but two are preferable, a singlelong spring being more expensive and more liable to break, as well ashaving a tendency to buckle and require an extra guard. One guard toprevent buckling of the springs is shown at O. The springs are adj ustedto the required amount off resistance by the nuts N on theirod G, andare made heavier than will be required in actual use, so that they willhave a surplus of strength notwithstanding the loss of elasticity due toprolonged services.

The guardrail on the car is shown at R.

IOO

Only one end is here shown, the two ends bcingidentical and each havingan inclined surface to bear upon and force down the loose rollerP andallow it to gradually return to its normal upper position.- Vhen in suchupper position, the roller B, as is shown in Figi, supports the cable inposition to be grasped by the grip of the car, and when depressed theroller is forced down out of reach of the grip, which then seizes thecable, so as to maintain it in the same position as shown in Fig. 3. Theroller is then held down by the guardrail It until the grip has entirelypassed over the roller, when the latter rises to again support thecable.

It will be seen that with the described arrangement there is as littleas possible material to oppose by its inertia the movement of theguard-rail as it strikes the roller P. The tension of thesprings isadjusted so as to be just sufficient to support the cable in the properposition, and yielding readily when required.

Preferably the short arm F of the lever and the rod G are, as shown, inbut slightly-divergent planes, which approach coincidence when thoseparts are depressed. In the instance illustrated in the drawings such aresult is obtained by placing both the arms C and F on the same side ofshaft D and placing the tension-springs on the other side. With such anarrangement a differential movement is obtained, and the purchase oreffect of the lever increases as the tension of the springincreases, sothat the effect of the spring at the cable-bearing sheave B remainssubstantially constant. In this respect,therefore,the spring is made tohave the same advantage as a weight in opposing a constant resistancewhen the l cable carrying sheave is being depressed, while possessingthe advantage over the weight of not opposing the inertia of a heavymass when such sheave is struck by the guard on the car.

Having thus described my invention, the follow-ing is what I claim asnew therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a cablesupporting device, the combination of a sheave to receivethe cable, a lever A,carrying said sheave, and a spring connccted tosaid lever for upholdingsaid sheave, so that the lever and thespringconnection have a differential movement, substantially as and forthe purposes set forth.

2. The combination of the guard-rail R, carried by a car, the cable, thelever pivoted on the roadway, having both arms projecting on one side ofits pivot, a cable-carrying roller carried by the arm, and a springconnected to the other artn,substantiall y as and for the purposes setforth.

3. The combination, with levers C F, pivoted as shown, and adapted tooperate substantially as described, of frame H, pivoted to the roadway,rod G, connected to arm Fand sliding in said frame, a spring guided insaid frame, and a follower on said rod for compressing said spring.

4.. The combination, with lever C F, pivoted as shown, rod G, connectedthereto, of a follower adjustable on said rod, and a spring held betweensaid follower and an abutment fixed to the roadway,substantially as setforth.

ORIGEN C. CRANE.

Witnesses:

HERBERT KNIGHT, MAZIE V. BIDGooD.

